The processing with plasma is very productive and metallic workpieces can, for example, be economically separated in the thickness range 1 to 60 mm for construction steels and 1 to 160 mm for aluminum and CrNi steels. In this respect, a plasma is directed onto a workpiece to be processed by an arc which generates a highly heated and electrically conductive gas and restricted by a nozzle. The material is melted by means of the thermal and kinetic energy and is driven out of the kerf which is formed. The layer quality has been able to be considerably improved in the very recent past. Only the taking into account of filigree contours, that is, the taking into account of large changes in the feed axis direction with small diameters, presents problems. Holes with radii smaller than 5 mm or which are smaller than 1.5 times the thickness of a workpiece, can thus not be realized in high quality when cutting with plasma.
A processing with laser radiation achieves a better cutting quality when cutting in the lower workpiece thickness range (<10 mm). Smaller kerfs and sharp edges can be formed with very small radii. With larger workpiece thicknesses, the productivity is much smaller and a processing is no longer possible from a thickness of some centimeters onward.
When cutting, a processing using plasma is less expensive, faster and frequently has a higher quality from workpiece thicknesses of 5 mm upward.
With the introduction of fiber lasers into production, wherein the laser radiation is guided via optical waveguides, the beam guiding has been substantially simplified.
Both the plasma technique and the laser technique can each be used in automated form in conjunction with CNC controlled guide systems, e.g. coordinate guide systems or industrial robots. In this respect, an increased plant engineering effort and/or a further clamping of workpieces in a respectively different plant is/are necessary for the processing if both processing methods should be carried out on one workpiece.